Reno Campaign Struggled to Connect

KEN THOMAS

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, September 17, 2002

Associated Press Writer

MIAMI (AP) _ Janet Reno learned that 60,000 miles in her red pickup truck, one South Beach dance party and a lot of hand-waving at busy intersections are no match for TV advertising and the party machinery.

The former Clinton administration attorney general narrowly lost the Democratic nomination for governor to political novice Bill McBride after entering the race looking unbeatable.

After all, she had universal name recognition from her days in Washington, a homespun image formed behind the wheel of her truck, and an unwavering take-me-as-I-am attitude.

So what went wrong?

For one thing, some party leaders, big donors, union bosses and other Democratic heavyweights had doubts she could beat Republican Gov. Jeb Bush in November. As a result, she struggled to raise money and garner endorsements.

She also ran what some saw as a quirky, disorganized campaign, with very little TV advertising in a state of 16 million people and two time zones.

In addition, the GOP unwittingly built up McBride by running attack ads that only raised his name recognition.

"She just never hit the right buttons for people," said Lance de Haven-Smith, a Florida State University political science professor.

When she launched her candidacy Labor Day weekend a year go, Reno was viewed as a formidable challenger to Bush and raised expectations of a showdown between the Bush and Clinton political families.

The former Miami prosecutor was considered such a heavy favorite to win the primary that former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Pete Peterson and Rep. Jim Davis dropped out.

But there were lingering concerns about her political baggage _ her role in sending young Elian Gonzalez back to Cuba, and her authorization of the deadly raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco.

Some party heavyweights worried Reno's past would distract voters and generate endless attack ads. Reno stubbornly charged forward, calling it proof that she had the ability to make the tough calls.

McBride, meanwhile, repeatedly told Democrats that he had a better chance of defeating Bush.

The Tampa lawyer got the backing of the state's largest teachers union and top Democratic lawmakers. He even got the blessing of Amadeo "Trinchi" Trinchitella, the influential leader of a big condominium community in Palm Beach County, considered Reno country.

McBride outraised Reno $4.2 million to $2.6 million, according to the most recent campaign finance reports, and the teachers union helped pay for ads that filled the airwaves this summer.

"She needed to make a case of why she could win the general election and she never made that case," de Haven-Smith said. "McBride's case that he could win went, in effect, unchallenged."

True to her roots, Reno, 64, rumbled down the state's back roads and freeways in her Ford Ranger. She sometimes joined supporters along busy intersections in South Florida, waving her long arms at the rush-hour traffic. The famously unhip Reno also held a dance party at a nightclub in hip South Beach, evoking her self-mocking appearance on "Saturday Night Live."

Reno carved out a message of improving the public education system, reducing the cost of prescription drugs for the elderly and caring for the environment she had loved since her childhood near the Everglades.

Polls showed Reno leading McBride by 28 points in early June. But her advantage faded as McBride gained exposure through his own TV ads and the Republicans Party spots.

"Jeb Bush did Bill McBride a great turn. I don't think anybody can look themselves in the mirror and say those ads didn't help him," said Democratic state Rep. Bob Henriquez. "Negative ads are better than no ads at all."

In her concession speech Tuesday she vowed to "fight as hard as I can" to prevent voting debacles like the one that occurred on primary day.

As for her other plans, the ever-unconventional Reno said she wants to "learn how to play the piano more effectively" and "perfect the Eskimo roll" aboard her kayak.